Rob Biederman and John Nylen, Crunchbase, July 28, 2025
The era of big commitments is over. Previously, 3-year upfront contracts were considered ideal for startups: they guaranteed revenue, tied the customer in for the long term. But today, this model is losing its strength, the market is changing rapidly.
As a result of the rapid development of AI, products are becoming obsolete quickly. Customers see new, strong competitors every month. Now they prefer short-term, secure and flexible deals.
AI is about speed, not featuresCustomers decide based on who can quickly adapt to tomorrow's needs, rather than on today's functional product. Therefore, companies must: release rapid updates,
make roadmaps public,
involve developers in customer problems.
Today's effective sales strategies: Small and short contracts need to be proven quickly.
A transparent plan should be provided so that the customer knows the next steps.
Presenting AI as a solution to real problems is not just advertising.
Why is it becoming harder to sell? IT budgets are shrinking.
Enterprises are reducing existing SaaS tools.
There is confidence in AI, but there are also unknowns that pose risks.
The era of big commitments is over. Previously, 3-year upfront contracts were considered ideal for startups: they guaranteed revenue, tied the customer in for the long term. But today, this model is losing its strength, the market is changing rapidly.
As a result of the rapid development of AI, products are becoming obsolete quickly. Customers see new, strong competitors every month. Now they prefer short-term, secure and flexible deals.
AI is about speed, not featuresCustomers decide based on who can quickly adapt to tomorrow's needs, rather than on today's functional product. Therefore, companies must: release rapid updates,
make roadmaps public,
involve developers in customer problems.
Today's effective sales strategies: Small and short contracts need to be proven quickly.
A transparent plan should be provided so that the customer knows the next steps.
Presenting AI as a solution to real problems is not just advertising.
Why is it becoming harder to sell? IT budgets are shrinking.
Enterprises are reducing existing SaaS tools.
There is confidence in AI, but there are also unknowns that pose risks.
Software sales in the era of artificial intelligence: Why has it become difficult to win long-term contracts?
Software sales in the era of artificial intelligence: Why it has become much more difficult to win long-term contracts today
